MK 4 OSPREY

I think this demonstrates how harmful these forums can be. In the past this would have been discussed at membership level in relative privacy and then discussed at committee,now any one (who may or may not have any vested interest) can have their say without thinking or caring what the consequences might be. The Ospreys made a brave move forward which has happened in many of the older classes and worked.

I hope the Ospreys can move on with this and get Hartleys back on board. Yes there may be differences in the boats and yes it may give a minor advantage for a while BUT this bickering will just drive people away from a great and spectacular boat.

Eighteen new boats ordered in what many would consider an old and outdated class that is a great move forward in anyones book. After all a rising tide etc.

If you guys continue to tear your class apart you will end up as one of those interesting lost classes that have faded into memory.

There are plenty of examples of classes that have made changes within the spirit of the class rules.( wide bow Fireballs, Revolution Hornets ) and the classes have survived these changes. I hope the class can pull together on this and get over this. After all it is a great boat with a great history.

Good luck to you all.

I hope they get this sorted but I don't think you can blame forums ... they are just a way for people to communicate; we live in a different world now and new media make news travel very fast ... but it's the same news.

Rick

I wasnt blaming this forum as such only that the ability for everyone to have their say in such a quick way, sometimes without much reflection, can work to the detriment of these changes. The class now has to wait for the long slow process of committee meeting then feedback then more meetings before anything can be resolved.

The relevant questions were put and as I understand it the class association were waiting for a committee meeting and also to see how the boats fared on the water before making any replies. There are some who are, like myself,  not Osprey sailors who possibly should have left the shouting to the class association members.

Personally I hope this all settles down and possibly a seasons reflection may put a different perspective on the whole thing.

Well what I'm getting at is exactly that! There is real unpleasantness in the Solo's at the moment, with a tiny minority causing great harm over the FRP issue. Frankly I can't see how a class can expect to thrive in a modern world if it doesn't accept change: carefully managed tho' it must be!

As for saying there is no doubt the FRP hulls are quicker, I think there is no doubt they are sailed by quicker people, but wood boats have had good results recently in the right hands. I guess I am typical in that I didn't want to spend 5 grand or more on my first boat, so I bought a cheaper wood one. Once I was comitted, I upgraded to an FRP, largely due to maintenance considerations. So, given a seasons practice, and having found where the marks and tides are, my results are better, and everyone thinks it's the new boat! I'm sure that I would be doing just as well in the old boat if it was down to weight and had a new sail and good foils.

Frankly if I could find racing as good in a class that wasn't tearing itself apart, I'd be tempted to change. As you say, you rely on a strong class assoc.

In case you hadn't guessed, it's a bit of a sore subject at the mo'!